Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2026

[Harriet]

Twins', did your new cabinet-height storage arrive?

Nancy, sorry to hear you had frustration with knitting.

LadyM is having a good time with arranging sewing area, etc. Hope it's going well.

Impressed with Cathy, who supports her stitching groups even when weather keeps many away.

After remaking one part of one block that had a fabric that looked jarring, the 9 scrappy blocks are finished, photographed and put away until later. I didn't change that fabric, I just pieced it so that it gives a different look.

The third of the quilt top that will have the embroidery piece in it is up on the design wall now, with a 3 x 5 card of my math beside it. Another, maybe better, idea came to me today on how to insert that with piecing. I looked through some machine quilting I've done in the past and got a little more confidence that I can finish this myself.

So glad to get to sew some today after a day away from home yesterday, and one away from home tomorrow.

Because it will be ddolder's bday, I spent my sewing time today finishing a bookmark for her, to tuck in with some other small gifts. She had made the broad statement that there was no such thing as having too many fabric bookmarks. This is one of the experiments from back in the autumn, trying homemade thin bias tape and the chicken-tracks fancy stitch of the machine. On the back is the one piece of that printed quote that came out best, but probably won't stand up to washing. I figure bookmarks aren't going to get washed.

[Nancy]

I had a better go of it today with the sock knitting today that helped.
I have some more done on the current prayer shawl and I'm enjoying the pink of this one.
I've done one similar in blues but this is a fun one and easy as I've done so many like it before.

-----
frogging out and re knitting on the pink one after finding a boo boo.

[Twins' Mom]

I have new design paper from a paper share coming today so I'll have fun things to play with this weekend. Not sure I'll get time today, depends on when the mail runs I suppose.

[Harriet]

Are the new designs are all you hoped for, Twins''? Happy mail sure can put a smile on our faces. Anticipation.

I have mused over a monthly sewing club that would send a small box of new items each month, and I guess in the scheme of things it's not too expensive. But I wonder if that would undermine my own plans to work on what I have decided to work on. I do want to keep up with the current techniques out there.

Nancy, glad to hear the sock knitting is working out a little better. Learning something new!

Yesterday I finished and recorded all the measurements for the parts of the top and then the measurements I'll need to buy for batting and backing. Found the batting I want to use. But deciding on a backing fabric is taking a long time. Can't touch any of them, so I'm limiting myself to known brands that aren't hard to sew and will drape. Can't see any of them against other fabrics, so I've decided against a few just because I'm worried they don't go well.

Decisions that can be made - buying a "wide" fabric (108 inches, some are 118) makes it less expensive, so limiting to that, too. Large shops are the only ones with much selection. Fat Quarter Shop, Shabby Fabrics, Quilt in a Day, Etsy. There's also Backside Fabrics, a specialty site, but I just didn't happen to find anything there. A couple little shops that I would like to support otherwise are just too small to carry wide widths.

Have it narrowed down to three.

[Nancy]

I have a pink prayer shawl 1/2 done now.
Socks are not so fun for me might not be my gift! Just sayin'.
Found a sheet that could be a back for a quilt when I was cleaning downstairs.
Did some knitting today.

Update;
I got the pink prayer shawl two thirds of the way done!

[Twins' Mom]

I wasn't that impressed with this round of prints, Harriet. They're mostly spring-like, and somehow I'm not feeling it yet, and I'm generally not into the very delicate colors. Today received my share of ribbon from the new catalog - a little surprised that ribbon is coiled, not too neatly, in 4 x 6 plastic pouches. It's going to be wrinkled, lol. I need to coil it neatly to keep it pretty. I'm still not committed to what I did last fall with the coiled ribbon - off a spool - that I had from other shares. I wound it on cardboard rollers and it's stored in spice jars, but I don't have enough room for what I have...much less more ribbon.

[Harriet]

Nancy, learning which creativity is the one we want to do more - that's valuable info! If you can have that pink shawl over your lap or knees while stitching it up, that must feel cozy in January.

Spring inspiration - maybe set it aside, Twins', and allow to be a "surprise" later. Maybe well down into February it will seem "new" and fun.

Spice jars - I'm envisioning little clear glass jars with lids, maybe 4 or 5 inches tall? You are so organized.

In the middle of the night last night I wrote down on a notepad to get the backing decision done this morning or bust! Then I could go back to sleep!

I was thinking, what with weather shipping delays, plus all the finishing on this one waiting just on ME, I wasn't doing myself any favors to dawdle. I'd promised myself to try for UFO finishes in 2026, plus this one is ideal this year because it has a Colonies theme. It would be nice to put "2026" on the label when it's finished. I tried one more online store - Han cocks of Pad ukah, and noticed a fabric I'd given up on because of not finding enough at any one store to do the whole back. I'd really appreciated this one because it's a colonial reproduction by the Smithsonian, which I'm certainly glad to support. And it's blue, which is the top's main color.

With both backing and batting, it was a larger purchase than I would usually make. Shipping was free if I purchased just a little more - less than shipping cost in the first place. I truly tried to find notions, but they didn't have ones I needed. So, I limited myself to fabric that would have a current project to go into and got a yard each of a red plaid to add to the plaid quilt project and a "wood" look for framing some small design boards and binding some wall hangings. That's one drawback with their site, they don't cut less than a yard.